Ireland reach consecutive quarter-finals of the FIBA 3x3 Women’s Series

The Ireland Women's 3x3 team continue to show progress in the FIBA 3x3 Women's Series, making it back-to-back quarter-final appearances with their run to the last eight in Bucharest. Emphasising that last weekend's performance in Amsterdam wasn't a flash in the pan, the quartet of Hazel Finn, Maura Fitzpatrick, Abigail Rafferty and Sarah Hickey upset the 4th seeded Poland in the group stage as the 11th seed, before bowing out against Rapid (Romania).

"I’m delighted with the team performance over the two days in Bucharest, " said head coach Niamh Dwyer. "The more this team compete at this level the improvements are evident,” said Dwyer. “To bounce back from the lost against Belgium and to go on to achieve another milestone of beating a higher ranked team at FIBA 3x3 Women’s Series level to qualify for our second quarterfinal was fantastic. I'm proud of these players who deserve a massive amount of credit for all performances over the last few weeks." 

Ireland had to begin their journey from the bottom, getting drawn into Qualifying Group B with Belgium and Singapore. A 21-11 loss to Belgium put Ireland on the back-foot going into game two, but a stellar all-round team performance gave Ireland a 21-10 win. Maura Fitzpatrick summitted the scoring charts for Ireland with seven points and helping her squad qualify for the Pool Stages. 

Sarah Hickey sets a screen for Hazel Finn against Singapore at the FIBA 3x3 Women's Series in Bucharest

Having already played two games on the Wednesday morning, Ireland were scheduled for two more before the day was out against Poland and Spain in Pool D. Poland entered the competition as fourth seed, giving them straight qualification to the pool stages, whereas Ireland entered at eleventh seed. In a David against Goliath story, Ireland outperformed their opponents and came away 17-16 winners. Hazel Finn and Abigail Rafferty both scored five points, with Sarah Hickey dominating the rebounds with her six.  

The eventual winners in Bucharest, Spain, were up next for Ireland. Alba Prieto starred for the Spaniards in their 21-7 win, but Ireland’s victory over Poland was enough to secure their place in the quarterfinals. Ireland’s next opponent would be the home city, Rapid Bucharest, who won both matches in their pool stage.

Finn picked up the first bucket of the game after only 13 seconds, but Rapid Bucharest replied within moments. Rafferty, Hickey and Fitzpatrick all picked up points by the midway point, but soon the home squad began to pull away through Hortense Limouzin, who tallied ten points.  

 Maura Fitzpatrick in action against Rapid Bucharest at the FIBA 3x3 Women's Series in Bucharest